Rethinking Inbound SDRs: Unlocking True Sales Potential with Leadrouter
In the fast-paced world of enterprise sales, efficiency is key. The traditional role of inbound Sales Development Representatives (SDRs) has been a cornerstone of many organisations’ sales strategies. However, it’s time to ask a crucial question: Are inbound SDRs truly serving their highest potential within the sales process? In this article, we’ll explore this paradigm shift and introduce a game-changing solution – Leadrouter, an AI-powered inbound lead management B2B SaaS product, poised to revolutionise the way enterprises approach their sales process.
The Evolution of Inbound SDRs
In understanding the inbound process,
let’s uncover the genesis of the inbound SDR role and the crucial need it addressed.
Early on in the B2B SaaS landscape, Account Executives (AEs) were the driving force behind inbound sales. They juggled everything from demo requests to qualification, demos, and relationship-building.
Yet, specialisation took its toll. AEs found themselves stretched thin, struggling to manage the influx of meetings and requests. That’s where inbound SDRs stepped in.
These specialists took over the qualification and scheduling tasks, allowing AEs to refine their sales expertise and focus on meaningful connections.
Moreover, inbound SDRs acted as the ultimate gatekeepers, ensuring only the most promising leads made it onto AEs’ calendars. This meant AEs spent their time wisely, engaging with leads that were genuinely interested and qualified.
For a while, this approach was a game-changer, until it wasn’t.
The rapid decline of the Inbound SDRs
In theory, employing an inbound SDR seemed like the ideal solution, especially when compared to the all-encompassing role of a full-cycle AE.
However, in practice, it proved to be slow and inefficient.
Many organisations quickly realised that dividing the sales cycle between these two groups only masked the underlying issues within the process.
In fact, it even gave rise to new challenges.
Tensions brewed among AEs and SDRs regarding lead routing, lead quality, opportunity credit, and more.
So, what exactly went awry with the inbound SDR playbook?
While it may have provided a temporary fix to some problems, it didn’t offer a comprehensive solution.
Sure, it lightened the workload for AEs and propelled opportunities forward, but it still fell short of the efficiency it could have achieved.
Both AEs and SDRs found themselves bogged down by disorganised spreadsheets, resulting in leads slipping through the cracks.
The consequence?
Mediocre conversion rates and untapped revenue potential.
The average conversion rate within B2B SaaS industry
Have you ever wondered about the average conversion rate for B2B SaaS companies?
On average, B2B SaaS companies convert about 9.5% of their landing page visitors. And of those who take the next step and book a demo, only 40% actually attend.
That means a staggering 60% of individuals who express interest in a demo never end up converting.
The question arises: why do companies face such a significant challenge when it comes to converting leads?
The answer lies in the inherent friction within the buyer’s journey.
In this landscape, adopting technology that streamlines and automates the inbound process becomes pivotal. Tools like Lead Router’s Form Router have proven to be one of the most effective ways to significantly boost conversions.
By minimising hurdles in the buyer’s journey, businesses can enhance their conversion rates and unlock greater potential in their sales efforts.
After implementing Lead Router, companies experienced a staggering 50% increase in inbound meetings booked. The conversion rate from demo request submissions to actual booked meetings saw an immediate surge.
With the aid of Form Concierge, it defied conventional beliefs about lead conversion, pushing boundaries, and achieving results beyond what most companies thought possible.
While dealing with SDRs to schedule meetings, customers can get infuriated. Let’s take a real-life scenario. Customer X is eager to know the pricing details of your product and wants to buy right away. But instead, he found himself in a situation where the SDRs insisted on qualifying him first. This was frustrating for X as he believed he was already qualified and ready to make a purchase. Despite his insistence, he had to go through multiple steps, including getting in touch with an account executive, which ultimately took five days to connect with the right person. This delay left X feeling like his time was being unnecessarily stretched, highlighting a common issue with the lead routing process.
In the end, five minutes can be the game-changer. It’s the make-or-break moment that can lead a prospect to a competitor or let their interest fizzle out. Timing is everything. Strike while the iron is hot.
The Need for Speed: Do Inbound SDRs Keep Up?
In the inbound process, speed to lead is paramount. The critical question arises: Can inbound SDRs swiftly attend to every inquiry? Unfortunately, in most cases, the answer is no.
Even a five-minute delay in responding to demo requests can translate into substantial financial losses, potentially costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Astonishingly, over 80% of companies exceed this time frame.
Given that a lead is 21 times more likely to convert if contacted within five minutes, this delay represents a significant missed opportunity.
The Cost of Delay: Why Speed Matters in Sales
When visitors land on your website, it’s often a sign they’re ready to make a purchase. They’ve already done their research in what’s known as the “dark funnel” and are eager to engage with a sales representative immediately.
Facilitating instant call scheduling is crucial – this is what we term the “straight-to-meeting imperative.”
Any delay in response time can lead to substantial revenue losses.
Maximising Inbound SDR Potential: Redeployment Strategies
In today’s fast-paced B2B landscape, Lead Router offers a dynamic shift in how we view inbound SDR roles. Rather than confining them to traditional responsibilities, strategically redeploying SDRs within your organisation can yield exceptional results.
There is a dire need for SDRs to take on a more strategic role. Instead of being mere scheduling assistants, they should focus on influencing channels and ensuring that crucial meetings come to fruition.
There is a profound importance of flexibility in leveraging the strengths of inbound SDRs. By recognizing their individual capabilities and adapting roles accordingly, companies can unlock new potential within their team.
Now, as we stand on the cusp of a new era, it’s time to re-evaluate the role of inbound SDRs and optimise our processes. This is where Leadrouter comes into play. By automating scheduling, Leadrouter empowers inbound SDRs to focus on impactful interactions that drive conversions.
Three Ways to Redefine Your Inbound Process:
- Go Allbound:
- Embrace a holistic approach by harmonising marketing and sales efforts. This synergy creates targeted account-based marketing campaigns, resulting in higher engagement rates.
- Create an ADR Team:
- Establish an Account Development Representative (ADR) team to engage existing customers. This specialised team focuses on upselling and cross-selling opportunities, ensuring that customers are aware of new products and features.
- Emphasise a collaborative approach between SDRs, account managers, and the marketing team. This strategy aims to influence customers to adopt new products.
- Utilise SDRs in Partner Ecosystems:
- Leverage SDRs to assist partner managers in nurturing prospects. This proactive approach helps identify new partnership opportunities, ultimately leading to more deals.
- Most times, partners often require assistance in moving prospects from vague interest to a confirmed interest. Assigning an SDR to act as an advisor in this process is pivotal for success.
- Partners benefit from increased workload, and the company secures more deals.
- [LR’s CEO] suggests creative approaches, such as personalised gifts, podcast or event invites, to effectively engage prospects in the partner ecosystem.
By thoughtfully redeploying inbound SDRs and adopting these strategies, companies can unlock new levels of productivity and revenue potential within their organisation.
One valuable lesson we’ve gleaned at Lead Router?
SDRs can transition effectively into various departments.
At Lead Router, our SDRs have the opportunity to transition into any department of their choice. We actively advocate for our SDRs to explore different paths. We’ve seen SDRs evolve into product managers, customer success representatives, and event managers.
The pivotal factor lies in their thorough understanding as an SDR. They grasp the fundamentals – comprehending the product’s functionality, the company’s target audience, the value proposition, and the go-to-market strategy.
This equips them with a solid foundation to thrive in their subsequent roles.
Are you ready to embrace the ‘straight-to-meeting’ imperative and streamline your inbound process? Set up a call with our team to delve into the possibilities.